1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data management system for a construction machine which has a plurality of data management devices for collecting and managing data from a plurality of working units of the construction machine in charge of operations on traveling or work, and more particularly, to a data management system for a construction machine which can efficiently insure the service meter time and other data even if a failure occurs to the data management device of the construction machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to efficiently execute maintenance management and failure diagnosis of a construction machine or working tools mounted on the construction machine, data on the operating status of the engine of the construction machine and the operating status of the working tools have been collected and managed using a computer. The integrated value of the operating time of the engine (hereafter xe2x80x9cservice meter timexe2x80x9d), in particular, is important to estimate the life of the construction machine.
Therefore, in a conventional construction machine, an electronic device for data collection and management (hereafter xe2x80x9cdata management devicexe2x80x9d) having a power supply function, computing function, timer function and display function, is disposed so that when the sensor detects the operation of the engine, this data management device executes a predetermined computing to calculate the service meter time and displays the calculated service meter time on the display.
FIG. 8 shows a conventional data management system that comprises a data processing device 81, a monitor panel 86 and a communication line 90.
The data processing device 81 is a data management system comprising a computing function 82, a storage function 83, a display function 84 and a communication function 85. The monitor panel 86 comprises a display function 88 and a communication function 89.
Conventionally, data such as service meter time that is obtained by a calculation of the computing function 82 of the data processing device 81 was stored in the storage function 83, and was displayed on the display function 84 of the data processing device 81 or on the display function 88 of the monitor panel 86. When the data such as service meter time was displayed on the display function 88 of the monitor panel 86, such data was transmitted from the communication function of the data processing device 81 via the communication line 90 to the communication function 89 of the monitor panel 86, and was displayed on the display function 88.
In the conventional management system, however, only one data processing device 81 was provided as the data management device. With the conventional construction machine, various data, including the service meter time, is centrally managed by the data management device, so if a failure occurs to the data management device, collected data is lost and the service meter time and other data can no longer be obtained.
The service meter time, in particular, is critical data for safe traveling and working, so it is a major problem when the service meter time cannot be obtained due to a simple failure of the data management device.
With the foregoing in view, it is an object of the present invention to provide a data management system for a construction machine which solves the above problems and efficiently insure the service meter time and other data even if a failure occurs to the data management device of the construction machine.
To achieve the above object, the invention is a data management system for a construction machine comprising a plurality of data management units for collecting and managing data from a plurality of working units of the construction machine in charge of operations related to traveling or work, wherein a first data management unit comprises computing means for computing data on traveling or work of an working unit in charge of traveling or work of the construction machine based on the data collected from the working unit, storage means for storing the data computed by the computing means, and transmission means for transmitting the data stored in the storage means to a second data management unit; and the second data management unit comprises storage means for storing the data received from the first data management unit as backup data.
In this way, the present invention is configured such that the first data management unit computes and stores the data on traveling or work of the predetermined working unit which is in charge of the traveling or work of the construction machine based on the data collected from the predetermined working unit, and also transmits this data to the second data management unit, and the second data management unit stores the data transmitted from the first data management unit as backup data. Therefore, even if a failure occurs to the data management device of the construction machine, the service meter time and other data can be reliably insured.
In addition, the invention can be so configured that the second data management unit further comprises return means for returning the backup data stored in the storage means to the first data management unit at a predetermined timing; and the first data management unit further comprises updating means for updating the data stored in the storage means based on the backup data returned from the second data management unit.
Still further, the invention is a data management system for a construction machine comprising a plurality of data management units for collecting and managing data from a plurality of working units of the construction machine in charge of operations related to traveling or work, wherein each one of the plurality of data management units comprises computing means for computing data on traveling or work of an working unit in charge of traveling or work of the construction machine based on the data collected from the working unit, and storage means for storing the data computed by the computing means; and at least one of the plurality of data management units further comprises judgment means for judging consistency of data which each one of the plurality of data management units stores in the storage means.
In this way, the invention is configured such that the plurality of data management units computes and stores data on the traveling or work of the predetermined working unit which is in charge of the traveling or work of the construction machine based on the data collected from the predetermined working unit, and at least one of the plurality of data management units judges the consistency of data which the plurality of data management units respectively stores. Therefore, even if a failure occurs to the data management device of the construction machine, the service meter time and other data can be reliably insured.